Middle East airport developments entail US$151 billion in capital expenditure until 2040

Middle East airports to handle 1.1 billion passengers by 2040

Saudi airports expansion entails US$147 billion investments 

Sharjah International Airport Expansion to get completed by Q4 2024

Kuwait expanding Passenger Terminal 2 to handle 13 million passengers

Doha passenger terminal expansion to raise capacity to 60 million

Musandam Airport expected to be completed by Q4 2026

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, March 27, 2023 – After most of the multi-billion dollar airport construction projects were put on the back burner or temporarily curtailed over the past three years, operators and investors have been racing down the tarmac as the Middle East and Asia-Pacific regions are expected to account for 58 per cent of the global air passenger demand in 2040.

The CAPA – Centre for Aviation, one of the world’s most trusted sources of aviation market intelligence, says there have been 425 major construction projects at existing airports, with US$450.7 billion in total committed expenditure globally, each of which is at various stages, from preparatory to about to conclude, along with 225 new airport projects and airport investor numbers swelling to 1074, including 258 airport operator groups or consortiums. Its database has region-wise listed the total numbers of the airport project and the volume of investment include 155 in Middle East worth US$209.4 billion.

The Middle East region, positioned at the strategic crossroads of major economies of Asia, Africa and Europe, has transformed into a major international hub and continues to be an inspirational growth story. With over 110 airports, this is already among the fastest growing in the world, accounting for 170 million of the global traffic.

Airports in the Middle East will need to invest US$151 billion in capacity expansion as the global air passenger demand is expected to increase more than two-fold in 2040. “This necessitates an investment totaling US$2.4 trillion for Middle East and Asia-Pacific airports until 2040 to accommodate this growth,” the Airport Council International said.  The ACI forecasts close to 19.7 billion passengers are expected to traverse the world’s airports by 2040 and the Middle East airports will handle 1.1 billion passengers by 2040 – a significant increase from 2019’s 405 million.

The airport industry’s growth story is far from over as new airports are coming up and existing facilities getting expanded and upgraded to meet future passenger demands. The airport industry players, seeing the huge investments coming back on the tracks, will get into an energized enthusiasm at the Airport Show in Dubai from May 9 to 11. It will be held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman of Dubai Airports and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group.

The 22^nd  edition of the world’s largest annual airport industry B2B platform will connect over 200-plus aviation brands and 100-plus buyers from over 30 airports and aviation authorities from 20 countries. Also taking place on the sidelines of the Airport Show is the Global Airport Leaders’ Forum (GALF).